Nautical Festival not happening

Wednesday

Mar 12, 2014 at 7:45 PM

After the economic downturn, the city doesn't have the resources to put on such an event, recreation chief Amy Beatty says.

Q How can we get the city to bring back the Nautical Festival? It seems like a perfect celebration to showcase the recent developments on the northern Riverwalk, and a great event to celebrate our city's nautical and maritime heritage.

A. The Nautical Festival was held in Wilmington in 2003 and 2004.In 2004, then-Mayor Spencer Broadhurst said the festival was an important attraction because it celebrated the city's nautical heritage, according to StarNews archives. The 2003 event, spearheaded by then-Mayor Harper Peterson, brought an estimated 25,000 people downtown, according to a 2004 StarNews article.But behind the scenes, the city's recreation staff was conducting the festival and it was a significant effort, said Amy Beatty, the city's recreation superintendent.After the economic downturn, the city didn't have the staff or the resources to put on such a large-scale event, Beatty said."We would love to see it revived, but from a resource standpoint the city couldn't be the lead agency," she said.Although the city may assist other festivals, such as Riverfest and the N.C. Azalea Festival, she noted those events are run by outside organizations.Although the last Nautical Festival was in 2004, the city has had 14 port visits from nine different tall ships since 2005, Beatty said.– Julian March